2 years (nearly), 5000 miles, Wisper 905 SE Sport

[z0mb13e]

Well I'm a month or so away from 2 years with the Wisper and it's been a lot of fun and I still enjoy riding it. The Wisper has been a brilliant introduction to electric bikes and I couldn't have asked for better support from the guys at Wisper when I needed parts.

5000 miles later and I've definitely saved myself a few hundred pounds on petrol but not as much as I had hoped after factoring in the cost of servicing, maintenance, spares and accessories.

However the battery (14Ah) is fading now and my journey times are creeping up slowly. It still has enough capacity for my commute and I think I could just about get 30 miles out of it, but its not as punchy or as quick as it was and I doubt it will cope well this winter. So I think it is time to look at either a replacement battery or a new bike (or maybe one of Davids ex demo Alpinos). Realistically, finances the way they are, it is probably going to have to be a ping battery or making more use of the Cyclamatic!

 

[Ultra Motor]

Great to see such a distance travelled with very few problems! Well done Wisper

 

[eddieo]

The 905 are a great bike...have a look at the new 905 SEL some real improvements I think..

 

[banbury frank]

Hi

If you want a new battery buy from BMS a 36 volt 15 AH rack mount battery Including 4 amp charger Weight 4.5 kilos Cost approx £240 including delivery

It comes with the slide plate to fit on top off standard rack


36V15Ah Li-Ion Alloy Shell EBike Battery Pack - BMSBATTERY

please pay by paypal to protect your money allow up to 6 weeks for delivery

Ping Battery are Good at catching FIRE also where do you mount them

Frank

 

[z0mb13e]

Great to see such a distance travelled with very few problems! Well done Wisper

Whenever I had problems Wisper were always willing to get things sorted. The two biggest problems I had were a badly cast bottom bracket. And a cracked rim.

The bottom bracket was cast off centre and wore bearings out every couple of months. After getting a replacement (which, although I considered wear and tear and was happy to pay for, Wisper replaced free) I haven't had to change the bearing since.

The rear wheel was in hind sight, I think, probably a bit of Friday afternoon job. It was out of radial true and broke a fair few spokes. After I loosened the whole thing off and re-truing the wheel, I wasn't losing spokes as often but after a couple of thousand miles the rim started cracking around some of the spoke holes. I immediately thought was to blamed myself for over tightening the spokes, but after considering all the possibilities, was confident that I hadn't done so and spoke to Wisper who sent out a new rim and a set of spokes. Truing the new rim was so much easier than the original and in hind sight I wonder if it has been assembled with a run of short spokes on the wrong side - might explain the radial truing problem. Since then I have only lost 3 spokes and have only had to spend a few minutes on two occasions re-truing the wheel.

The only other problem was the front disc brake seizing up. Couldn't adjust the inboard pad and the cable adjuster was seized sold and snapped off. Now have a Clarke S2 hydraulic disc brake (so only 1 cut out brake), the performance of which is amazing.

I've worn out a selector cable, a drive train (chain, freewheel & chain ring), a lot of brake pads and sets of lights (they fall off a lot on the rough roads) and a couple of sets of tyres and tubes, it has stood up to the rigours of the sandy, salty, wind blown conditions that I ride it in, really well.

 

[z0mb13e]

The 905 are a great bike...have a look at the new 905 SEL some real improvements I think..

The SEL looks really nice, front and rear disc brakes and built in lights, all things I would add to the 905 SE. But I would really like to try the internal hub gears as the sand really takes it toll on the dérailleurs.

 

[z0mb13e]

Hi

If you want a new battery buy from BMS a 36 volt 15 AH rack mount battery Including 4 amp charger Weight 4.5 kilos Cost approx £240 including delivery

It comes with the slide plate to fit on top off standard rack


36V15Ah Li-Ion Alloy Shell EBike Battery Pack - BMSBATTERY

please pay by paypal to protect your money allow up to 6 weeks for delivery

Ping Battery are Good at catching FIRE also where do you mount them

Frank

I thought Ping were the preferred battery of many of the self builders? I don't have any preference but I noticed a few posters have had problems with BMS over shipping...

Ultimately I will first try and fit a battery into the Wisper battery enclosure, failing that I will look at rack mount.

 

[oigoi]

How much would a new genuine wisper battery cost you? It is interesting to see the kind of lifespans for batteries that can be expected.

 

[Fordulike]

Hi

If you want a new battery buy from BMS a 36 volt 15 AH rack mount battery Including 4 amp charger Weight 4.5 kilos Cost approx £240 including delivery

It comes with the slide plate to fit on top off standard rack


36V15Ah Li-Ion Alloy Shell EBike Battery Pack - BMSBATTERY

please pay by paypal to protect your money allow up to 6 weeks for delivery

Ping Battery are Good at catching FIRE also where do you mount them

Frank

Are Ping batteries notorious for bursting into flames???

 

[billyfish010]

Are Ping batteries notorious for bursting into flames???

Hi all I had two Ping batteries and they were brilliant I would buy again if I needed a battery.

 

[z0mb13e]

How much would a new genuine wisper battery cost you? It is interesting to see the kind of lifespans for batteries that can be expected.

Looks like they have come down a bit since I last looked £499 from here (Though that says Li-ion rather than LiFePo which is what mine is, then again the batteries on the Wisper site are Li(NiMnCo)O2 but I don't know much about that (Lithium, Nickel, Manganese, Coblat, Dioxide?) perhaps someone more knowledgeable could offer some advice?) A while back they were £650 odd if I remember correctly.

Wisper were offering £50 (IIRC) off the cost of a new battery when you return your old one. That was a while back so I would need to check if it is still the case. If they were then that isn't so bad, though it would be handy to have the old case to play with jamming another battery into!

 

[z0mb13e]

A bit of searching on these forum and it looks like it was a £40 rebate for returning your old battery...

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi z0mb13e I am so pleased that you have had good service from your Wisper. Yes we still give the rebate on old batteries, although most people seem to want to keep them as a spare.

Our batteries have moved on a fair deal over the last 24 months and the new 37V 16Ah are much more powerful and will last a lot longer. 14Ah battery price has dropped recently to about £450.00.

All the best

David

PS we will be selling off the ex demo Alpinos in three weeks!

 

[z0mb13e]

Hi z0mb13e I am so pleased that you have had good service from your Wisper. Yes we still give the rebate on old batteries, although most people seem to want to keep them as a spare.

Our batteries have moved on a fair deal over the last 24 months and the new 37V 16Ah are much more powerful and will last a lot longer. 14Ah battery price has dropped recently to about £450.00.

All the best

David

PS we will be selling off the ex demo Alpinos in three weeks!

Hi David,

I have been really pleased with it to. It has been a testament to the Wisper brand!

I can understand people wanting to hang on to their old batteries, after all, it still has enough juice for my commute. I would think it would last another 12 months (optimistically), albeit with a bit less punch than a new battery, especially in winter.

Can you shed some light on the chemistry of the new batteries? (Li(NiMnCo)O2)

How do they compare to LiFePo4 on things like charge cycles, discharge rates and expected life?

Hopefully I will be flush when the Alpinos are up for grabs, as they got great reviews. I will keep my eyes peeled for the post!

 

[rog_london]

Hi David. Is the new battery available in the older 2008 clothing (with the kettle socket)?

The original is now just over 2.5 years old and seems to be holding up well, though I'm not a commuter. However, my decision as to whether to replace the battery or the bike in due course will certainly be influenced by the options available.

I'm one of the silent majority as far as Wisper owners are concerned - for the very simple reason that no news is good news!

Rog.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Rog, delighted to read the Wisper is still going so well! I haven't thought about the old cases, I will find out if we can load with the new cells for you.

All the best

David